Thai Veggie Burgers

I’ve lived in a vegetarian household for over seven years now, and it’s fair to say I’ve made my share of veggie burgers. Some have been insanely good, some meh, and some downright disgusting.

Two qualities are necessary for a good veggie burger: The right texture and, of course, incredible flavor. If you achieve only one of these, your burger will probably fall into the “meh” category — you don’t like it and you don’t hate it, but you probably won’t ever make it again. And if you’re missing both flavor and texture, forget it.

Then you have the veggie burgers that have it all, like these sturdy Thai veggie burgers — made all the better because they’re piled high with Thai pickles and finished off with a generous smear of curried cashew cream. They’re a little bit involved, so they’re not your everyday kind of veggie burger, but they’re perfect for a Saturday evening when you’ve got time on your hands and you want to make a dinner that will impress.

Inspired by a Thai Turkey Burgers recipe from Epicurious, these veggie burgers are packed with flavor thanks to Thai spices, toppings, and sauces. And the texture is just right — nice and firm so that they hold up to being topped, sauced, and manhandled in the bun. You know, like a burger should be!

When I was developing this recipe, I knew I wanted to use a blend of beans and oats to achieve the texture and flavor that would make this burger unforgettable. After a few failed attempts, I finally stumbled on a combination of edamame, oats, and — most importantly — dried chickpeas, soaked for 24 hours to soften them. The beauty of the soaked chickpeas is that there’s no need to cook them first. Just grind the soaked beans in your food processor along with the rest of the ingredients, form your patties, and cook.

Soaked chickpeas are my secret to nailing the perfect texture in falafel (see my Sweet Potato Falafel recipe!) and they work for burgers too. The soaked chickpeas have a texture that’s almost closer to a nut than a bean, so you avoid that mushy, bean-y texture that some veggie burgers can have. In a pinch, you can use cooked chickpeas from a can, but they may throw off the texture, so if at all possible, give this method a try because it’s worth it! There really isn’t much more prep time involved; you just have to remember to set the chickpeas out to soak the day before you make the burgers.

Grapeseed oil, or other neutral-tasting, high smoke point oil for cooking

For serving:

4 hamburger buns, toasted

Additional cilantro for topping (optional)

Instructions

For the curried cashew cream:

Add all of the ingredients to a high-speed blender or food processor fitted with the S-blade. Blend, stopping to scrape the sides as necessary, until it’s smooth and has a consistency similar to hummus. If your machine seems like it’s struggling, add more vegetable broth, a tablespoon at a time, until it’s running smoothly. Season with salt to taste and refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.

For the Thai pickles:

In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, and orange juice until the honey dissolves. Add the cucumber and carrot strips, cilantro, basil, and mint. Toss to combine. Set aside to marinate while you make the burgers.

For the Thai veggie burgers:

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S-blade, combine the garlic, lemongrass, and green onions. Process until all of the ingredients are finely chopped. Add the chickpeas, edamame, oats, egg, Thai chile & ginger sauce, salt, and lime juice. Process, stopping to scrape the sides once or twice, until the ingredients are combined and are about the same size as small grains of rice. Fold in the lime zest and chopped cilantro.

Line a small baking sheet or large plate with parchment paper. Divide the burger mixture into 4 mounds on the parchment and shape them into 1/2-inch thick disks. Place patties in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes to firm up while you toast the buns.

When you’re ready to cook the burgers, place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon or two of oil and heat until shimmering. Gently place the patties in the pan — you want to hear a loud sizzle when the patties hit the oil, otherwise it’s not quite hot enough yet. Fit as many patties in the pan as you can without crowding them. Cook the patties for 5-7 minutes, flipping halfway through the cooking time. The exterior should be crisp and golden brown with slight charring around the edges.

To build your burger:

Spread a generous amount of the curried cashew cream on each side of a hamburger bun. Set a patty on top of the bottom bun, place a heaping mound of Thai pickles over the top, scatter cilantro over the pickles if using, and place the other half of the bun on top. Repeat with each burger and serve.

Notes

The pickles and curried cashew cream can both be made in advance to save on prep time.

If you can find Thai basil leaves, buy them for the pickles! They have a stronger flavor than regular basil. If you’re unable to find Thai Chili & Ginger Sauce, we’ve tested this recipe successfully using 2 tablespoons of Thai chili garlic sauce and 1 teaspoon of minced ginger instead (cut the sauce down to 1 tablespoon for milder burgers!).

Meg van der Kruik

Well colour me intrigued! I am a chronic battler of sub par veggie burgers, but this chickpea soaking thing sounds interesting. I’m going to give it a try! When you soak chickpeas for so long do you usually keep them in the fridge or out?

Meg van der Kruik

May 21, 2014 at 11:42 pm

Katie, you crack me up! Ha! So, I live by the beach and my house is usually cool not hot so I soak them at room temperature. If you have major temperature fluctuations in your house or you are just concerned about soaking for that long at room temp you can soak them in the fridge. Also, just FYI, the soaking liquid after 24 hours is STINKY! Be sure you rinse the beans really well.

Julia Mueller

May 21, 2014 at 10:18 am

I’m not so well-versed in the art of veggie burg making, so I’m definitely going to try these out! They look like they are packed with flavor. I could easily see this recipe becoming a staple in my house!

Meg van der Kruik

Kris

May 21, 2014 at 5:10 pm

This looks like a recipe I could really enjoy. I would like to know what I could replace the curry with though, I really don’t like it but everything else sounds wonderful! I was wondering if anyone had some other spices that would still give it the same Thia flavor without the curry?

Meg van der Kruik

May 21, 2014 at 11:56 pm

Kris, the only part of the recipe that has curry paste in it is the sauce. You can either leave the sauce off completely and simply spread sriracha on the bun or you can make the cashew cream and substitute 1/2 tablespoon of sriracha in the sauce.

Kris

May 22, 2014 at 12:40 pm

Thank you, going to get some from the store and get on this recipe! 🙂 Also, I saw the vegan carrot muffins this morning. I’ll gluten free that recipe for my
daughter and we will have an awesome late lunch. 😉

Oooh! Pickles and Cashew cream! That is an impressive list of ingredients in those burgers, but I think their tastiness will overcome the effort. Plus, you can always double the recipe and freeze the extras for next time. I can’t wait to make this!

Meg van der Kruik

May 22, 2014 at 1:00 pm

Connie, I hope you love this as much as we do! There are quite a few spices in the mix here, but in case you are in a time pinch the patties are equally good without the cashew cream and pickles. They just add a extra flavor and texture kick.

Ann

May 22, 2014 at 8:46 pm

Do you think you could freeze these burgers? I’m single, so I’d only eat one a day at most. I could make less cashew cream at one time, but I’m not sure about how well the burgers would keep (either frozen or just in the fridge). Any idea on that?

I am right there with you! I try to include meatless monday recipes as often as I can! I am an athlete, who pays close attention to my diet to ensure I can perform on race day, yet I know if you are smart about it, you can make a meal just as nutritious….if not more, without the meat! These look wonderful, and I love the combination of flavors!

Lauren

January 2, 2016 at 6:01 am

We made the burgers last night and they were awesome! I substituted 3/4 c chickpea flour for the 1/2 c whole chickpeas (that’s the conversion I found online) and 1-1.5 Tbsp Thai Green Curry Paste for the ginger chile sauce. They held together REALLY well and were super flavorful, but there were two slight problems with them. (1) They were a bit dense for my preference, but, if a problem, that might have been due to my substitutions. Next time I might try adding just a little (1/4 c?) grated carrot or zucchini. Or I’ll try to see if the soaked whole chickpeas improve this. (2) I had trouble cooking them through, as they started burning in the pan. My stove top tends to run hot, as does my cast iron, so it might have been due to my equipment. Next time I will try making them a little flatter (closer to 1/4″) and maybe bake in the oven with a quick sear on the stovetop.

But excellent, I’ll definitely make this again and next time ensure i have time for the pickles!!